Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School

Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School is a nurturing, happy school where pupils feel safe, behave well and achieve well. Inspectors found high aspirations, an ambitious curriculum with reading at its heart, and strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Personal development is a particular strength, with pupils learning British values exceptionally well and benefiting from a rich range of activities, leadership roles and pastoral care. Leadership has brought renewed focus after recent staffing changes, and safeguarding, attendance and governance are effective. The main area for improvement is curriculum adaptation. In some subjects, learning is not adapted well enough to meet pupils’ individual needs, which means some pupils do not build the breadth and depth of knowledge they could. This was the only improvement point identified. The inspection was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; it had previously been exempt after an outstanding judgement in 2014, and the current headteacher took up post in September 2024. Under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade was awarded.

Strengths

• Nurturing and happy school where pupils feel safe and cared for
• High aspirations with pupils working hard and achieving well across the curriculum
• Clear behaviour expectations and polite, courteous pupils
• Strong early years routines and positive play
• Effective identification and support for pupils with SEND
• Impressive personal development and exceptionally strong teaching of British values
• Rich range of extracurricular activities and pupil leadership roles
• Ambitious curriculum with reading at its heart
• Effective phonics and reading support so pupils read fluently and accurately
• Teachers benefit from training that builds subject expertise
• High-quality pastoral support and effective work to improve attendance
• Governors provide effective support and challenge
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value workload consideration
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, learning is not adapted well enough to meet pupils’ individual needs
• Some pupils do not build the breadth and depth of knowledge they could across the curriculum
• Curriculum adaptation needs to ensure all pupils achieve highly in all subjects

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School attended 96.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School had 18.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 7.9% of pupils at Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School received £7,610 and spent £7,904 for each of its 127 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £187,000 (£1,476 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Chippenham · Wiltshire local authority: places and applications

What is Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School have?

Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School has 127 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School cover?

Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School?

Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School is at The Ridings, Kington St Michael, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6JG.